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Posted 03/17/2009 at 09:01 PM
I have to admit that on Selection Sunday I already had the Arizona Wildcats in the National Invitational Tournament. This postseason event has fallen so far that people routinely refer to it as the Not Invited Tournament due to the immense popularity of the NCAA Tournament.
I've always said that getting knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is better than winning the NIT, but I figured this year would be different. I could cheer for Arizona, while I could make bets with two fellow VegasInsider.com writers who graduated from Florida (Brian Edwards) and Chris David (Penn State). My wife graduated from Kentucky, while I did some grad school work at UNLV and have a ton of friends in Vegas that cheer for the Runnin' Rebels.
Even though I'm a homer for Arizona, I don't believe that the Wildcats should have advanced to the Big Dance (but that's another blog). Any of the 'bubble' teams heading into the selection process had plenty of warts, but Arizona advanced due its 'full body of work.' I'll explain this in another blog.
What I'm getting at here is how far the NIT has fallen. The Tuesday-night game between UNLV and Kentucky is not even being held at Rupp Arena. This contest will take place at Memorial Coliseum a place the men's basketball team hasn't played a game since 1976. Rupp Arena is currently hosting Kentucky's version of the Sweet 16.
The betting line lists Kentucky as a seven-point home 'chalk' over UNLV, with the total set at 134. However, the safest bet appears to be that Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie's tenure in Lexington will be limited if the Wildcats don't turn things around.
Kentucky had its string of 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances snapped this season. The only reason the powerful Wildcats program didn't make the tournament in the early 1990's was because of recruiting violations from the Joe B. Hall era and a postseason ban for two years.
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